metatron wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:39 amI think the whole way this bash was executed and the exclusion process in regards to certain die hard fans
Hey, Metatron...
I’ve had some zzz’s now and realized I’d missed part of your post. I guess I was done and tuned out after “pretty childish”, but that part deserves a proper response, even though I understand it won’t be satisfying to many.
I felt terrible about this happening and also feel some responsibility because I’d encouraged him not to abort his trip even though we both knew he had already been told he couldn’t pay at the door. Part was because I knew he had a solid Plan B and part was hoping I could work my magic and make it happen, but we both knew there was no guarantee.
Let me tell you my experience with this guy. He is the nicest, coolest dude, and I could hang and chat with him for hours (and we did over those two days). Such a well meaning and knowledgeable fan, and I loved not only hearing his experiences, but also getting to know him as a person. He is truly class A in my book.
I tried 3-4 times as respectfully as possible to persuade for an exception to be made, especially after having met him. I was unable to get that done and I’ve apologized to him profusely for how things didn’t work out for him and still feel badly over it. There was just a point where if I’d pushed any further it could have jeopardized my standing with the event (I was a first-timer and nobody had yet met me in person), and he understands that. Now I’m just really hoping he’ll hang on as a fan until the next time, because I can’t see any reason he wouldn’t be able to go. This truly was the only downer on the trip for me, and especially for him. I REALLY wish this had worked out for him.
As regrettable as it is, I want to be fair to the organizers and say that especially after the event wrapped up and the staff at SIR Studios was shooing us out the door 40 minutes past closing time, I understood the hardline stance on not allowing people to pay at the door. Multiple people had offered to do this (in advance, not knocking on the door with money in hand) and all had been turned down, so he wasn’t singled out, and definitely wasn’t “blacklisted”. If it had been allowed there would have been no easy way to gauge and prepare for the number of attendees, which ended up being pretty critical. With the number we had, we still ran 40 minutes over. The signing was done last and there were still 5 in line when SIR told us we had to wrap it up — several people scrambled to help pack and load while Vinnie took care of everyone left in line.
I wasn’t in Atlanta but from what I’ve read, Vinnie really takes his time with fans. And I saw that firsthand... wow, what a sweet, truly caring guy who took the time to get to know the people he didn’t know well. Heck, I introduced myself with my real name and he grinned and said, “You’re John Clayton!” I was surprised he knew my real name already and made that association.
So the keeping the numbers under control ended up being critical to the experience of the other attendees, and also to help with other logistical concerns.
Another word about the organizer, who everyone knows was Stephen Wilkie. Dude... this guy is a rock star, and he worked his tail off with Vinnie to make this happen. He was already tapped out beyond capacity when he arrived in town and soldiered thru the next day with Vinnie to ensure it was special for everyone. I know that he didn’t finally get to rest until much later that morning, maybe grabbed 1-2 hours of sleep, then still came down to tell others goodbye. I wasn’t in his shoes and just cannot... will not... question his decisions on the numbers allowed. It makes me sad to see others question his trustability and I can tell you from many months of experience, Steve has delivered everything he’s ever promised me, made sure every purchase went thru smoothly, and been a straight-up, no BS type of guy. It’s no wonder Vinnie trusts him, too.
If we could roll back the clock a few weeks, it’s very possible things could have turned out differently for our other friend here. To him, I respect any decision he makes, but really hope he will continue to stay and keep the fire burning for Vinnie because I’m sure things will work out next time. I’ve also expressed concern to him if my thread here might pour salt in the wounds and apologize if it has. I picked VVFF to share info about the Bash with first, and wanted to deliver on that.
Metatron — peace, and I apologize to you for the snappy response.
